Maulana Shuja ul Mulk, Ameer Jamiat Ulema e Islam said Maulana Fazalur Rehman was trying to run the party on his personal whims and wishes, like a monarch, and the dismissal of senior JUI-F leaders was illegal as no proper process was followed.
The statement from Maulana Shuja, the JUI-F leader from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa came as the rift in the party grew wider, with growing dissenting voices from within the party. He said Maulana Fazalur Rehman was trying to pit senior Ulema and party leaders against the State institutions, just to cover up his cases with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
“If he is clean, he should present his record before the NAB and everything would be clear,” he said and added that just because of notices by the accountability watchdog, he was asking the party to stage sit-ins.
He was critical of the statement by JUIF Secretary General Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri who said party workers would stage a sit-in at NAB courts, or PM House or elsewhere if Maulana Fazalur Rehman was summoned.
“I would be happy to appear before NAB if I am summoned, as I am clean and have no issue. We are politicians and should not be afraid to come clean,” he added.
“If Maulana sahib is clean, he should have no fear in declaring his assets,” he said and added if another sit-in was staged, it would further disappoint the party workers and leaders, as it did, the last time.
Maulana Shuja ul Mulk regretted that the party was now being run like a monarchy, like some other political parties, and said the removal of senior members from the party fold was done without issuing any show-cause notice. He said all expelled leaders were members of the Shura and had been removed, without holding any such meeting.
He said the rift in the party was not new and has been going on for the past 12-13 years, owing to the way the party was being run.
Earlier the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) disciplinary committee expelled four top leaders from the party over violation of its discipline, according to a tweet by its Central Spokesperson Mohd. Aslam Ghouri.
The leaders expelled included; Maulana Muhammad Khan Shirani, Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan, former member National Assembly (MNA) Maulana Shujaul Mulk, and former spokesperson of the party Hafiz Hussain Ahmad.
The disciplinary committee categorically stated that the JUI-F would not own any statement, or view of all those who have been expelled from its fold.
Earlier this week, former MNA and senator Sherani who also served as former Chairman Council of Islamic Ideology Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani voiced his concern over the way the party affairs were being run by Maulana Fazalur Rehman.
He accused Maulana Fazlur Rehman of manipulating intra-party elections and awarding party tickets in total disregard to the loyalties of selfless leaders.
Talking to media he said “Maulana Fazlur Rehman himself is ‘selected’. How can he taunt and call Imran Khan and others selected?”
Shirani, who also served as provincial chief of the JUI-F had also rejected the JUI-F elections and said the party was being run as a “family party.” The rift in the party widened after Senator Maulana Ataur Rahman was elected unopposed as the president of the party in KPK.
Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, who served as central spokesman of JUI-F was also critical of the way the party was being run by Maulana Fazalur Rehman. He said he was removed from his post as spoke against the allegations leveled by Nawaz Sharif’s against the military leadership, as these were not in line with JUI-F’s policy.
Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan the ameer of the party in KPK had to withdraw his candidature for party elections at the eleventh hour. All the leaders had clearly distanced themselves from the PDM and described it as an “unnatural alliance”.